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Cleaning Exhaust Tips: It’s All In The Details
Exhaust tips are often overlooked when detailing a car. Many people just focus on the big picture: paint, wheels and windows; not realizing that one over looked area on a clean car will stick out like a soar thumb. Cleaning and polishing your exhaust tips will not only complete the look of your car, but also protect the tips from corrosion and caked on carbon build up.
Different Types Of Exhaust Tips
Exhaust tips are primary made of three different types of materials: mild steel, mild steel that is chrome plated and aerospace grade stainless steel. Mild steel is the least expensive and easily the most hideous. It’s very ridge and prone to cracking unlike the flexibility and durability of stainless steel. Mild steel rusts easily which makes it a poor choice to have exposed under your car where it will regularly see rain, snow and salt.
Mild steel that is chrome plated is the next step up. It’s more durable and has the same characteristics as other chrome surfaces. It looks hundreds of times better than mild steel producing a mirror like shine. Its downfall comes in with durability, if not taken care of properly it’s prone to corroding and the coating can flake and peel.
Stainless steel is the best material used for making exhaust tips. It’s extremely durable lasting roughly 4-5 times longer than chrome and not prone to cracking. It’s resistant to corrosion and when polished properly produces a similar mirror shine as chrome. The only downside to stainless steel is it’s cost, but if you consider its durability you will never need to replace it if taken care of properly, unlike the other options.
Proper Cleaning Products And Tools
There are a wide range of safe cleaners to use on exhaust tips such as degreasers, all purpose cleaners, dedicated wheel cleaners and different metal polishes. Experiment around and find out what products work best for you. I personally like to use the degreaser by Chemical Guys El Diablo and P21S Metal Polishing Soap but again a lot of different products work.
After the initially cleaning you will need to polish the metal. I’ve tested several products and Chemical Guys Metal Shine is so far my favorite. Ever since using it cleaning my exhaust tips has been quick and easy. After polishing you can use a metal wax to help protect the tips. I’ve never had a need for this type of a product so I can’t speak to its effectiveness.
Microfiber towels, wheel cleaning brushes and steel wool #0000 are all necessities when cleaning exhaust tips. If it’s soft enough not to mar or scratch the surface of your wheel (metal or clear coated) it will be safe for your exhaust.
Do not use steel wool on any painted or power coated surface you will damage it. Also, be careful using steel wool #0000 on chrome; lots of lubrication is needed so you do not damage the surface. A way to check your products, tools and technique is to preform a small test spot on the exhaust tip to check the results. Pick an inconspicuous area, as there is a chance you could damage your exhaust tips.
Let`s Get Down To Business
I had recently broken my ankle and this was the first time detailing my car since. It had been 6 months since I had washed it last and as you can see from the pictures if definitely needed it.
Before:
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Soak your exhaust tips with cleaner and let it dwell to start breaking down the road grim and carbon build up.
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After the product has dwelled for a minute or so start agitating the surface with whichever cleaning tools you have available.
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I started with the inside and worked my way out.
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Making sure to get all the hard to reach places.
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Ready to be wiped down and polished.
You can use steel wool #0000 during the initially cleaning step as well. I didn’t have a lot of time while making this guide so I wasn’t concerned with removing all the caked on carbon build up courtesy of the previous owner of the car. It would of taken me an hour to rub out all of the black build up you see inside the pipes. I’ll do it in the future and add the results to this guide.
The next step is to use a microfiber towel or steel wool to polish the exhaust tips.
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Use a moderate amount of product with steel wool for proper lubrication.
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Spread the polish evenly all over the surface before you start to polish.
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Ready for the polish to be worked and bring out the mirror shine.
Wipe off the used product and check the results. After using steel wool #0000 it’s a good idea to polish again with a microfiber towel.
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The Results:
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As you can see cleaning and polishing your exhaust tips makes a huge difference and really brings the look of the car together. By adding exhaust tip cleaning to your detailing routine you will prevent corrosion and caked on carbon build, while making cleaning next time faster and easier.
The exhaust tips on this BMW M3 were not maintained properly for 8+ years and the carbon build up is a long tedious process to remove. Looking on the bright side they still cleaned up great for being neglected for so long.
Cloudy day but still looks great for being 10 years old.
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Another Example:
Recently I detailed a 2013 Kia Optima SXL. Its exhaust had not been cleaned or polished since day one. This is a perfect example of why you should routinely clean your exhaust. If left in it’s previous state it would have corroded over time leaving it a permanent eye sore.
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Before being cleaned and polished.
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After. The owner of the car didn’t even know his exhaust tip could look that good.
This article can also be found on my blog: How To Clean Exhaust Tips Like A Pro | Incredibly Detailed
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Huge transformation! Thanks for posting this How To! I`ve never thought about sticking my wheel brush down the tip of an exhaust pipe, but this just gave me a great idea!
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Scrace, nice write up. I think this particular detailing task is a bit of an "art" and many overlook getting those tips looking their best. It`s kind of a pet peeve for me. Two of our cars have direct injection engines and the goo that flows down the exhaust system and out the tips makes a semi-permanent mess :( I clean them weekly with my wheel cleaner as I move around the car, but they`re far from perfect - - I think the metal has been damaged/eroded. The majority of the polishes and protective coatings have offered little in the real world. The exhaust tips seem to be a perpetual mess.
Can you say what you specifically like about the Chem Guys` product you`re using? How is it better than the box full of metal polishes I already own?
Thanks.
